What You Don't Know
by StrawHatCaptainLuffy-Sama
Summary: Nami had just moved to the Grand Line, eager to start the year with a great start. But the Grand Line High isn't really what she thought it would be... And some other misfits seem to want to include her in their strange little bunch. Especially their mysteriously insane captain, as they call him. (T because Zoro needs to shut up every once in a while. Sanji, too.)
1. Chapter 1

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 _ **I'M SORRY!**_

 _ **I KNOW I SHOULDN'T WRITE ANYMORE STORIES, BUT I COULDN'T HELP IT**_

 ** _Readers: BOOOO_**

 ** _Me: SORRY NOT SORRY_**

* * *

Nami stepped warily into the school, her shoes barely making a sound against the linoleum flooring. Almost every head turned her way, but looked away almost immediately. The other girls turned their noses up, as if she was some disgusting thing that had just barged into their life.

Nami didn't seem as if she cared, but on the inside she was devastated. She thought that she could fit in easily, like she always did, but it seemed she was already deemed too different from everyone else. Her jeans and Fairy Tail T-shirt seemed like a good idea at the time, but once she looked around at all the neon shirts and short shorts, she realized that she stuck out almost as much as a person wearing neon in the middle of a bunch of gray. She sighed when she remembered that different states have different styles. Especially when you moved halfway across the world.

Her parents had recently divorced, so she was stuck with her over-protective mother and big sister. Her dad went off and sold their old house, causing Nami's mother to have to find a new house. Luckily, one of her brothers offered a house over here in Japan. Nami and her sister, Nojiko, lived with their mother, Bellemere. They lived in a medium-sized apartment, near to the school so Nami could walk there. Nojiko was already out of high school, and she was busy trying to get a job to help support the family of three.

Nami wanted to help, but her mother forbade her from getting a job until she was out of high school. It was an argument Nami could never win, no matter how much she protested. Bellemere was rock-hard in her decision, and when she was like that, nobody could budge her. Not even her daughters.

Now, as Nami walked down the halls, she realized that maybe she should've gone with her sister's idea, wearing all those bright colors and whatnot. Nojiko always seemed to know what to wear, every single day. But Nami thought she could handle it herself, because she wasn't a little kid that needed their mother to dress them every day. But now she was thinking maybe she should've let Nojiko have her way.

"Hey, new girl! What's your name?" someone asked, stepping up to block her way. He was wearing a bright yellow shirt that almost hurt to look at, with biege knee-length shorts and neon yellow Nike sneakers. His brown hair stuck up at the back, making it seem as if he gelled it that way. He had dark blue eyes that seemed to mock her, and he had a few freckles flecked across his nose.

"Nami," Nami muttered, trying to step around him. But the kid intercepted her again.

"Well, Nami, I just wanted to tell you that your shoe is untied," the kid said seriously, looking her straight in the eye. Nami caught herself glancing down at her battered converse, almost thinking she had forgotten to tie them. But the second her eyes left the boy's face, he laughed loudly.

"Made you look!" he howled, stepping out of her way. Some of the other kids laughed along with him, making Nami's face burn with embarrassment. She hurriedly walked away, wanting to get away from the taunting laughs. Her short, tangerine-colored hair almost came untucked from behind her ears, but Nami slowed down enough to where the danger of hair in her face passed. She looked at the floor to avoid the curious gazes, and so she wouldn't hurt her eyes with all the neon. She glanced at the schedule she had gripped tight in her hand, tight enough to crumple it. She smoothed it out the best she could, glancing at the first class she had.

"English, huh?" she murmured to herself. "Classroom B-15... Where's that?" She looked at the classroom nearest to her, and it had A-06 on the door. She looked ahead of her to see a large sign further down the hallway, with **B Hall** printed in bold, white letters and a large arrow pointing to the left. She assumed she'd find B-15 in the B Hall, unless the school had made lettered halls just to mess with the kids' heads. She found the right door quickly enough, and stepped inside with only a little hesitation.

But maybe she should've payed attention, because next thing she knew is that she's falling to the floor at an alarming speed. She squeaked loudly, ready for a face-plant, but before her face could meet the carpet, a strong arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back up. Nami blinked rapidly for a second, trying to process what just happened, before she saw the boy that had tripped and caught her walking away from her. Suprisingly enough, he was wearing a non-neon, open red vest with sleeves that went a little past his elbows, and blue denim shorts that were knee-length and frayed at the bottom. He had a straw hat on his head, a red ribbon wrapping around it, with black hair peeking out from under the straw. An odd change from all the bright, obnoxious pinks and greens demanding attention.

"H-hey! Wait!" she called after him, almost tripping over her own feet to catch up with him. He paused and looked over his shoulder.

"Hey what?" he asked, as if he hadn't just saved her from face-planting.

"Um, thanks for catching me..." she murmured. The boy grinned, his dark eyes shining.

"No problem!" he said happily. He turned back around and continued to head to the back of the room. Nami watched him until he sat down, then looked around for a desk of her own. There was seven rows of desks, each row raised higher than the one before it. There was ten chairs to a row, as there were a lot of students in this class. There weren't any chairs open that she could see.

"Hey, you can sit back here with us!" the boy that she had just met called. She looked over to see him smiling and waving at her. She almost giggled, but stopped herself and casually walked over to him. There was an empty desk beside him, and she gratefully sank into it.

"Are you new here? I haven't seen you before," a girl with dark hair, piercing blue eyes, and a kind smile asked. She had sunglasses perched on her head, keeping her hair from covering her eyes. She had a mostly unzipped blue top, showing off a little more than Nami would've liked. A skirt covered her bottom half, but it was slit at the side.

"I just registered here. This is my first day. I'm Nami," Nami explained. The girl smiled.

"I'm Nico Robin, but you can call me Robin," she said, holding out a hand. Nami shook it, happy she made friends with someone that seemed normal.

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" the boy beside her suddenly said, smiling when she jumped at his sudden voice. She turned to meet his gaze, and he smiled even wider. Nami didn't notice before, but he had a small scar on his cheek and a large, X-shaped scar on his chest. A yellow cloth was tied around his waist, as if imitating a belt. "These are my friends," he said flippantly, waving a hand behind him. Nami looked at where he had indicated, and saw a bunch of strange people.

"Roronoa Zoro. Call me Zoro," the one behind Luffy grunted, leaning back in his chair. One of his black eyes was scarred shut, and he had emerald hair cut close to his head. His clothes were slightly curious; a completely leaf-green outfit, a darker green belly band, and he had a red cloth tied around his waist, styled like Luffy's was. Three swords-Nami didn't know why they were allowed in this school- were propped up against the desk, gleaming in the sunlight.

"I'm the great Usopp!" the fuzzy-haired boy behind her claimed, hand on his chest. His hair was black, like Luffy's, and he was wearing orange overalls with a fuzzy-looking belt. A tiny beard was on the bottom of his chin, looking like a small piece of lint. A pair of goggles hung around his neck, and he had a curious-looking bag slung over the back of his seat.

"I'm Brook! Yohoho~!" a bony guy, sitting behind Robin, sang. He had a black puffball for hair, and he was practically a skeleton. He had on a crown-shaped hat, and a pair of heart-shaped sunglasses rested over his eyes. He wore a suit, just like a famous star. He could really be famous, for all Nami knew.

"I'm Sanji," another boy, behind Zoro, said, checking her out. He was wearing a fancy suit, but not like Brook's. He had a small beard, and stubble on his face. A cigarette-Nami was certain this was a smoke-free school- was hanging from his teeth as he grinned at her. His eyebrows were insanely curly, as if trying to make all that looked at him dizzy. His blond hair was slightly long, covering one of his dark eyes.

"Cutty Flam, but call me Franky!" the robot-looking one, beside Robin, said. His light blue hair was shaven off, and he looked more like a punk-style cyborg than anything. His outfit consisted of an open Hawaiian looking shirt, with... was that a _speedo_? He was pretty bulky, as he seemed to be made of mostly metal. He was almost too big to fit in the small desks.

"Tony Tony Chopper," the smallest boy, sitting behind Usopp, said shyly. In fact, he wasn't even a boy. He was a tiny, brown-furred reindeer with a big blue hat with a white X covering his head. A small pair of horns and tiny brown ears peeked out of the hat. He was wearing a yellow and white vertically striped shirt, and orange shorts. A tiny blue nose peeked out under the hat, with large, dark eyes above it. He had a backpack slung on his own chair, and he was fidgeting awkwardly under Nami's gaze.

"I'm Nami. Nice to meet you all!" Nami said, smiling wide. Luffy grinned.

"Nice to meet you, too!" he greeted, ignoring the fact that the bell rang in the middle of his sentence. Everyone immediately quieted down.

"Okay, class, it's time to start english," the teacher said, coming in the door and standing in front of her desk. A white snake with red splatters followed behind, wrapping around her body. Nami heard Sanji make a weird sound behind her, probably gaping over the teacher. She wasn't wearing a standard teacher's outfit; she had on an elaborate violet dress, decorated with skulls, and a pair of golden snakes dangled from her ears. In fact, everything about this woman seemed snake-like.

"Oh, it seems we have a new student today!" Ms. Hancock spotted Nami sitting beside Luffy. Everyone turned to stare at her. Nami ducked her head, trying to be less noticeable. But Luffy just grinned at the stares.

"Smile, they're watching," Zoro mumbled, head pillowed in his arms, resting on the desk. Luffy laughed, causing everyone to look away in disgust. But Ms. Hancock just smiled warmly at Luffy.

"Okay, time to begin the lesson!" Ms. Hancock said cheerily. Everyone groaned loudly, except for Nami's new friends. They all just smirked knowingly, confusing Nami as to why they would be happy that class was starting.

"Why are you guys smiling?" she whispered. Zoro chuckled slightly.

"Hancock never gives _us_ homework," he said back.

"Why not?"

"I don't know. Ask Luffy." Zoro gestured to the black-haired boy in front of him, who was currently folding a paper airplane. Nami was distracted from her conversation when she saw how smoothly he made the folds. She was almost mesmerized by his quick fingers that seemed to barely even touch the paper when he made a fold. Within a minute of starting, he had an intricately folded airplane in the palm of his hand. Nami gaped at the small plane; it's papery wings crackled slightly when Luffy turned it this way and that to check it out.

"I don't know if it'll reach..." Luffy muttered to himself, straightening the wing tips.

"Are you kidding me? That looks like it could fly anywhere!" Nami awed. Luffy glanced at her shining face, then laughed softly.

"You think?" he mocked her playfully, then tossed the airplane with a quick flick of his wrist. It soared close to the ceiling, then took a dive down towards Ms. Hancock. Without even glancing up, Ms. Hancock grabbed it out of midair.

"Who threw this...?" she asked dangerously. Everyone immediately pointed to the perpetrator, who was wearing a face-stretching grin.

"Sorry, Hammock!" he apologized, not sounding sorry in the least. Nami winced at his disrespectful tone, worrying about his safety. But Ms. Hancock surprised her. The teacher sighed quietly, before giggling.

"Please don't throw paper airplanes at me, Luffy-kun!" she said gently, tossing the plane back to him. It flew right to his open hand, not even making a sound. Luffy grinned at her.

"Sure, Hammock!" he said agreeably, tossing the paper in a high arc to someone in the front of the room. Oddly enough, it was a boy with a fuzzy, leopard-spotted hat. Dark hair barely showed under the brim. He was wearing a long, black coat, even though it was still technically summer. And, just like Zoro, he had a sword resting against his seat. When the plane landed on his head, he shot a death glare at the boy that threw it. Luffy just motioned for him to throw it back.

"Come on, Traffy! Throw it already!" Luffy whined. Traffy, as Luffy called him, took the plane off of his head. Nami watched him, curious to see how he would react. And she was met with a very rude gesture, and a crumpled paper plane flying right at Luffy. It bounced harmlessly off of his forehead, but Luffy pouted anyways.

"Traffy! That was mean!" He picked up the crumpled plane, examining it with a frown. "What a waste of a perfectly good plane..." he muttered, throwing the paper into the trash. Even though the trash was at the front of the room, and he was in the back.

"Okay, Luffy-kun! Can you please let me continue class?" Ms. Hancock asked sweetly, giving Luffy a smile. Luffy shrugged, as if he couldn't care less.

"If you want to," he answered, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back until his head rested on Zoro's desk. Zoro grunted in annoyance, but allowed it. For now.

 _This Luffy guy is so weird. It's like everyone just immediately loves him. Except for the so-called_ popular _kids, that is,_ Nami thought, spotting the neon kids glaring at the straw-hat-wearing boy. He was completely oblivious to the hate, choosing instead to fake-snore loudly enough that Usopp chuckled.

"Class! Pay attention to me, not Luffy-kun!" Ms. Hancock demanded, rapping her desk with her pencil. Every eye was immediately on her. Except Luffy, who was still fake-snoring away.

* * *

"Homework for tonight is to write something you remember from when you were little. No exuses for not remembering! If you can't remember anything, ask your parents or guardians to tell you a story," Ms. Hancock said, just barely finishing before the bell. The students slid gratefully out of the hard seats and practically ran out of class.

"Luffy-kun! I hope you write one for me!" the teacher said, winking at the boy. He just smiled and shrugged, as if he was saying "Maybe, maybe not".

"Hey, Nami! You coming?" Luffy called to the orangette. She looked up to see his wide smile, his eyes warm and inviting. Nami allowed a tiny smile and followed the group of eight out into the hall.

"So, what do you have next, Nami-swan?" Sanji cooed. Nami checked her schedule.

"I have... history," she answered. Sanji visibly deflated.

"My class isn't the same as Nami-swan's..." he said dejectedly, suddenly finding the ground the most interesting thing in the world as he headed to his class. The others murmured good-byes before going their own ways. Except Luffy, Usopp, and Nami.

"I have history, too!" Usopp cheered.

"Then us three can go together!" Luffy said happily.

"Three..?" Nami asked.

"I have history, too. With Mr. Buggy, right?" Luffy looked at her schedule upside-down. "Yup. Just follow me and Usopp, we know the way." He turned away from her, adjusting the hat on his head to fit more comfortably.

"Okay," Nami whispered, quickly chasing after him in case the Neons-as she had nicknamed them- saw her. Surprisingly, when they saw Luffy, everyone stayed at a distance. Nami looked at Luffy, expecting him to look hurt or at least confused, but he just grinned wider and walked past them without sparing a glance. Nami was surprised by his calm manner, but continued to follow for bully protection. Oh, and because he was her friend. That, too.

"Buggy! I'm here!" Luffy called, bursting into the room noisily. Every kid looked over before turning away hurriedly, as if the door just blew open by some passing wind instead of the loud, obnoxious boy.

"Ah, Straw Hat! Nice of you to flashily show up on time!" the teacher, presumably Mr. Buggy, snarled. But there was a smile on his painted-on face, even if it was a little forced. To Nami, he looked like an escaped clown from a passing circus. He had a big, red nose stuck to his face, and his hair and stubble was green and blue. He had on white gloves that looked like Mickey Mouse's gloves, and he had on a giant, pirate-like hat.

"Well, I had to bring Nami here. And I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to be late," Luffy said, walking right past the clown-like man. Mr. Buggy immediately looked at Nami.

"Oh, a new student? Please flashily introduce yourself!" Mr. Buggy grinned, going to his desk and sitting down. Usopp laid a hand on Nami's shoulder, as if to reassure her, then followed Luffy to the back. The bell rang, and every student in the room went quiet.

"Hello, I'm Nami," Nami said shortly, not wanting to take longer than she had to in front of everyone. She quickly stepped to the back, noticing that every seat around Luffy, except for the one Usopp was taking up on Luffy's left side, was completely devoid of any kind of life. Well, there was a spider on one of them, but that didn't count. Nami sat down in the desk on Luffy's other side.

"I'm bored!" Luffy whined loudly, banging his head on his desk. Mr. Buggy shot him a harsh glare, standing up from his office chair.

"You better keep quiet, Straw Hat! You don't want a detention, do you?" he hissed. But his eyes held the real venom, malice clear in his black pupils.

"No, I don't. I mean, yeah, I don't. Wait..." Luffy lifted his head up from the desk, his brow furrowing. "How do I answer that?"

"YOU DON'T ANSWER IT!" Mr. Buggy screeched angrily, stepping closer to the student. Luffy blinked.

"But aren't you supposed to answer every question the teacher asks you?" he asked innocently. Mr. Buggy was visibly annoyed, his brow twitching heavily.

"Not if they're rhetorical," he snapped, turning away to end the conversation.

"Okay, big nose guy!" Luffy chirped. Mr. Buggy visibly twitched, but pretended that Luffy was just the wind that couldn't do anything to him. Just a loud, annoying, straw-hat-wearing wind that liked to make fun of his nose...

"WHAT DID YOU SAAAYYY?!" Mr. Buggy screamed. Nami just about leaped out of her chair in fear.

"Nothing," Luffy lied, looking away nervously. Mr. Buggy was still fuming, but he stomped to the front of the room.

"Let's flashily begin the lesson!" he growled. As he wrote on the whiteboard, Nami started taking notes.

"Psst!"

She pretended not to hear as she scribbled down another word.

"Psst! Nami!"

Sge pressed the pencil down harder than she should've, dulling the tip much quicker.

"PSST! NAMI!" Luffy whisper-shouted right next to her ear.

"What?" she snapped, giving Luffy a death glare.

"What does rhetorical mean?"


	2. Chapter 2

Nami watched, amused, as Luffy attempted to get Zoro to give him a ride home.

"Come on! You know I don't have a car!" Luffy pleaded, almost begging. Zoro shook his head.

"Sorry, you know my parents will get pissed if I don't get home on time," he answered. Luffy pouted.

"But you're late getting home every time! You always get lost and call me to help you out!" he protested, crossing his arms over his chest. Zoro's brow twitched.

"No, I don't!" he growled. Luffy huffed, but when he pulled out a small, black device, Zoro paled.

"Hmm, let's see... Last call was from Zoro for me to help him out... the call before that was Zoro again... then Sanji called to ask me to help you get home since you nearly ran him over... then... oh, look! It's Zoro's name again!" Luffy said, scrolling through his recent calls. Zoro was visibly fuming.

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT THAT STUPID PERVERT DECIDED TO WALK IN FRONT OF MY CAR!" he howled. Luffy grinned at his distress, pocketing the black iPhone.

"But you still owe me a lot for giving you directions back home. Now, get moving!" he demanded, hopping into the passenger's seat. Zoro started cursing under his breath at the boy, but didn't make him leave. Sticking the key in the ignition, the car started with a loud rumble. Luffy opened his window, waving like a maniac at the rest of his friends.

"BYE! SEE YOU ALL TOMORROW!" he called, wearing a grin that was almost as bright as the sun. His friends couldn't help but wave back at his enthusiastic, almost frantic-looking good-bye. They heard Zoro yell at him to 'put his damn seatbelt on right!' before the black Crystler turned the corner.

"Well, that was... interesting..." Nami commented, lowering her arm.

"You have no idea," Usopp snorted. Nami didn't really like how that sounded.

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Okay. How about now?"

"No."

Luffy bounced in the seat, practically shaking the whole car. Zoro struggled to keep his attention on the road, but it was pretty hard when the boy in the seat right next to you can't decide which song station he liked better. After listening to Luffy switch through _Wrecking Ball*_ and _Rather Be**_ nine more times, he finally reached over and turned the radio off.

"Zoro!" Luffy whined, slapping his hand away from the knob. "I was listening to that!" He turned it back on, and _Beauty and a Beat***_ blared through the speakers. The two males started screaming bloody murder, the car swerving in the street, and Luffy scrambled to turn it back off. Zoro was gripping the steering wheel so tight, his knuckles were white. Luffy's eyes shone with horror as his hand hovered over the small knob.

"Lets just leave it off..." Zoro muttered bitterly. Luffy nodded slowly, pulling his hand back to his side. Zoro stared at the road like was imagining Justin Bieber standing there, waiting to be run over. Luffy was still staring at the radio, as if it would turn on by itself and play that torture again.

"...What now?" Luffy asked quietly, breaking the silence.

"Maybe stop talking?" Zoro suggested. Luffy nodded again, then leaned back in the seat. He closed his eyes with a big yawn, then glanced at Zoro.

"Are we there yet?"

* * *

"Hey, Nami!" Nami looked behind her to see Luffy running to catch up with her, a big grin on his face. The crowded halls parted like the Red Sea when he barreled past them.

"Hey, Luffy," she greeted with a smile, noticing how everyone turned away from her and Luffy. He didn't seem to notice as he beamed at Nami.

"Hey, did you know that we're meeting in front of the school after classes on Friday?" he asked nonchalantly, shifting the bag slung over his shoulder. Nami shook her head.

"Nope."  
"You should come. We're all going to the movies to see that one Disney movie... Inside Out, I think?" He put a hand to his chin, his face growing a little flushed as he was thinking.

"Don't hurt yourself," Nami muttered.

"Yeah, we were going to watch Inside Out and another movie called Jurassic Park. But I don't want to watch Jurassic Park," Luffy pouted childishly. Nami giggled slightly, but then stopped when she realized that he had just technically _asked her out_.

"W-just you and me?" she stammered, her face a light shade of pink.

"No, I said 'we'. That means you, me, Zoro, Usopp..." He continued to list off the people going, which turned out to be the seven others Nami had met the day before.

"So, will it be just us... nine?" Nami asked, still slightly flushed.

"And another girl named Vivi," Luffy added. "She goes to a different school. Alabasta High, I think." Nami nodded.

"I know that school. It's a private school, right?" Luffy nodded, looking relieved that he didn't have to think on this one.

"Yeah, she's a part of our friend group. We always go do something fun on Fridays with her," he said with another grin. "And did we just pass B-15?" Nami looked behind them to see he was right.

"Uugh..." She turned around and practically stomped back, Luffy trailing behind her and laughing softly. Sliding into her seat, Nami looked behind her to see all of the seven kids she had met yesterday smiling at her. Except Zoro. He was more glaring than smiling.

"Nice to see you again, Nami-san," Robin greeted politely.

"Nami-swaan!" Sanji swooned.

"Hello again," Nami greeted them all, smiling. The bell rang, quieting all of the students. As she had the day before, Ms. Hancock stepped through the door, her snake right on her tail.

"Okay, class! Hand your homework to the front!" Ms. Hancock demanded, slapping her hand on her desk to gain a few distracted students' attention. A few grumbled that they didn't finish, but in the end a good-sized pile was handed over as she walked past their desks. Even Luffy's small band of friends did, even though Ms. Hancock didn't ask them for theirs. She smiled sweetly at Luffy.

"Did you do one, Luffy-kun?" she asked, standing right in front of his desk. Luffy blinked, but nodded his head. He dug around in his weirdly-decorated binder before wordlessly hading a paper over to Ms. Hancock. She positively beamed at him.

"Thank you, Luffy-kun!" she said gratefully. Luffy grinned back, though it looked a little forced. Ms. Hancock walked back to her desk, stacking the papers neatly on the edge. Luffy fidgeted in his seat, looking slightly uncomfortable. Nami watched, slightly curious, but soon Luffy just smiled like normal and layed back onto Zoro's desk, just like the day before. Zoro growled low in his throat and shoved the boy's head away. Luffy sighed in mock disappointment, but then he just layed his head on his own desk.

"I'm hungry..." he moaned. His stomach growled in agreement, and he looked up. He frowned at the digital clock, which read in bright, glowing red: **7:53**.

"We aren't going to have lunch for a few hours," Nami mused. Luffy pitifully groaned, laying on his cheek to look at her.

"I won't live that long..."

"Well, then no lunch for you," Nami huffed. Luffy stared at her for a few seconds, then lifted his head ever-so-slightly, only to let his forehead aquaint itself with the table with a resounding _thud_.

"I shoulda eaten breakfast..." he muttered sourly.

"Why didn't you?" Nami asked.

"I didn't have any time. I woke up late," Luffy mumbled. Nami smiled to herself, oblivious to the lesson the teacher was supposedly giving.

"Since when did our shitty garbage disposal of a captain not have time for food?" Sanji cut in, raising a swirly eyebrow. He plucked the cigarette out of his mouth, blew out a cloud of smoke, and grinned. "If I remember correctly, you told me that there was always time for food."

"That was over the summer..." Luffy banged his head on the desk once more, and Nami tried not to think that he would get mental damage if he kept that up any longer.

"Luffy-kun!" Luffy looked up, surprised. Ms. Hancock almost never called on him, only to get his attention when she did something she thought he would find interesting. But this time, she was holding a small note, a frown on her flawless face.

"The office needs you. They say it's important." Luffy stood up, ignoring the hateful stares like he always did, and slowly made his way to the front of the room. Normally, he'd jump at the chance to get out of class, if only for a few minutes, but something made him feel slightly nervous of what the note would say. He almost didn't take the tiny, pink slip of paper, but he gripped it by the corner as if it held some disease and read it over. Nami was curious; nobody had ever been called out of class before in her old school.

"Um, are you sure I should go _now_?" he asked hesitantly, making his friends all glace at each other worriedly. Luffy _never_ hesitated, no matter what it was he was facing.

"Yes, Luffy-kun. This looks important," Ms. Hancock sighed. Luffy started to take a step outside, but then glanced back at his friends. He gave a weak smile, then practically bolted out the door. All of the Neons looked relieved, even smug, that the boy had finally left the room. But Ms. Hancock looked worried, and she stared at the closed door for a minute before turning back to the class.

"Sorry about that, class! Let's get back to the subject at hand!" she said briskly, tucking her hair behind an ear.

* * *

Luffy took small, jerky steps toward the ofice, crumpling and uncrumpling the small paper. He glanced at the words again, in all their inky glory, and frowned. Why _now_? Why, of all times, did he have to come now? Couldn't he have waited until next week, or even next month? He almost walked by the office, but backtracked quickly and entered the stifling, tiny room. Sitting in an office chair, behind a large desk cluttered with papers, was the principal. Mr. Doflamingo.

"Um, Flamingo? Where is he?" Luffy asked nervously. Mr. Doflamingo raised a brow at the nickname, but his fake, plastic smile stayed in place. He jerked a chin to the door on the side, and Luffy gave a small 'thank you' and almost ran out the door. Sitting in the hard bench, wearing the fakest smiles Luffy had ever seen, were his brothers. Ace and Sabo. Their smiles grew a little more genuine when they saw their little brother, but then they dropped the happy act and adopted more serious looks.

"Let's go," Ace grunted, running a hand over his arm. Luffy noticed a dark purple bruise, which was definitely fresh. He nodded, following the two boys outside and out to the flawless, gleaming convertible parked in front of the school. It's white paint was newly waxed, and Luffy had a pretty good guess of who shined it. He cast a glance at his blond-headed brother, Sabo, and saw a small, fresh patch of wax on his shirt.

"Hey, Ace? Sabo? Where are you two going?" he suddenly asked, watching the two older boys heading for a different car. A dark blue truck, to be exact. They cast apologetic glances over their shoulders, mixed with fear and worry for their brother.

"Gramps said he'd take us for the next week. Says he'd be full with just us, so you can't come." Luffy's eyes widened with horror, and he suddenly rushed forward to hug them from behind.

"Promise you'll be back next week?" he demanded, his voice muffled by Ace's dark shirt.

"Yeah, we promise. Now you better let us go, quick, before Gramps comes after us," Sabo said gently, untangling Luffy's arms from around his waist before ruffling the boy's hair and hurrying to the car. Luffy reluctantly released Ace, who in turn gave him an affectionate nudge.

"Come on, you can survive a week without us," he said, only half-joking. Luffy gave a sullen nod, not trusting his voice not to crack. Ace suddenly glomped him, squeezing the smaller boy so hard that it made it hard for both of them to breath.

"I promised I'd be back soon, so you have to promise to wait for me. Even if I don't come back alive," he added, hearing Gramps' annoyed car horn. Luffy nodded again, and Ace let go to give Luffy one final, assuring look before sprinting to the truck, slamming the door closed behind him. The truck zoomed away seconds after, leaving squealing skid marks on the parking lot. Luffy watched until the car disappeared into traffic, then let out a sigh. He turned around, only to be faced with a black T-shirt, with _Satan's Vice-President_ printed in faded white letters.

"Well, that sure was a touching scene," the owner of the shirt said sarcastically. Luffy's eyes slowly widened, traveling up the lean, muscled chest, up to a hard, sharp-angled face with a cruel mouth, piercing eyes, and short, dark hair styled up into spikes.

"Let's go home, Lu. Back to where you belong," the man snarled, grabbing Luffy's upper arm and starting to harshly pull him over to the pure white convertible. Luffy felt a small, involuntary shiver run through his blood, making the crimson liquid feel like icy slush.

He was back.

And with a whole lot more bite than ever before.

* * *

Nami stretched slightly in the seat, even more confused with the Luffy situation than before. Zoro and Sanji both had tried texting the boy, but he still had yet to answer.

"Hey, I got something!" Zoro suddenly said, fumbling for his phone that had just vibrated. Good thing it was lunch, or they'd be in a load of trouble for texting during class. The whole group congregated around his desk, and he glared at them.

"Do you mind?" he hissed, shielding the device with a hand to safely type in the password. They looked away for a second while he typed, but turned back the second he said they could.

"What does it say?" Chopper demanded, climbing onto Zoro's shoulder in his desparation to hear from Luffy.

"It just says... 'Hey, sorry for not answering before! I was busy, and I just got your texts!' with a frowny face," he said bluntly. "Then it has another text saying that he can't text for a while, and to please stop sending him messages. And that's it." At the same moment the last words left his mouth, Sanji's phone chimed with the same messages. They all looked at each other with worry, but Nami looked on without concern.

"What's wrong with that?" she asked nonchalantly. The group immediately snapped their gazes to her. She fidgeted under their hard stares.

"Luffy always has time to text us," Usopp began, "because his family is never around to stop him. There has to be something wrong if he can't talk with us." Nami blinked at the new information.

"His family?" she asked. This time, Robin answered.

"Luffy-san lives by himself," she explained tonelessly. Nami blinked again, this time in shock.

"He lives alone?" she asked incrediously. The group nodded. "Then how does he survive?"  
"He has a weekend job," Usopp said flatly. "Can we please stop talking about it? Luffy has ears like a bat, you know." Everyone, save Nami, nodded solemnly.

"What about you guys?" Nami pressed, but they all didn't answer. At least, not directly.

"We all have our own secrets to give. Let's not share anybody else's," Robin said.

"Yes, Robin-chwan!" Sanji said, somehow making himself look like a noodle. Nami huffed, but didn't press anymore.

"Has this ever happened before?" she asked. The group shook their heads.

"He's never missed a day of class, much less skipped any. No matter how much he says he hates school, he always comes, even if it's just to see us," Usopp said, crossing his arms. Chopper gave an affirmative hum.

"He's almost always here before us in the morning, and he's usually the first one ready to leave in the afternoon," he said, climbing up to sit on a desk. Nami hummed to herself, thinking. Was Luffy really so attached to his friends? She would never let herself get that attached.

All of a sudden, it hit her. She was _already_ letting herself get attached to these people. Either she isolates herself from them, or she hangs out with them without getting too attached. But maybe it was too late already. Maybe-

"Nami? Are you okay?" She looked up at Chopper's worried voice. Everyone was staring at her, as if she was dying or something.

"O-oh! Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking," she said, waving her hand dismissively. They relaxed, then went back to the conversation at hand.

"What do you think could've happened to Luffy-bro?" Franky, who had just been quietly listening the while time, suddenly asked Nami.

"How should I know? I've only known you guys for two days!" Nami said, exasperated.

"Well, we don't know either. He's never even talked about himself before," Chopper mused, putting a hoof to his furry chin.

"Now that you mention it... Luffy never did tell us about his family, did he?" Usopp observed, mirroring Chopper's move. Nami gaped at the group.

"You're telling me you count yourselves as his best friends, and you don't even know who his dad is?" A no to that. "His mother?" Another no. "Any siblings?" Another no. "Nothing?" This time, a nod.

"Who would want to talk about people who died a long time ago?" Usopp asked coldly, crossing his arms once again. Nami visibly deflated.

"Sorry... I just..." She covered her burning face with her hands. She could feel their stares, although they didn't feel malicious. In fact, when she looked up again, they were smiling.

"Geez, we can't be serious without you thinking we're mad at you, can we?" Usopp said, laughing. Nami's face turned even darker, and for a second, everyone forgot what they were even talking about before. But only for a second, as evil always seemed to pop up like an ugly pimple on the face of life. In this case, usually in the form of bright neon.

"Hey, new kid," one boy said, his voice sounding stuck-up and self-important.

"Hey what?" she called back, just as snidely.

"If you really want to get a good reputation here, you need to quit hanging out with that one bastard and his squad of losers," he advised. "What was his name again? Luffy? Yeah, you should leave him for someone like me." The boy, wearing neon pink, gave a smug grin, and the group all gave him deadly glares. Nami stood, smiling politely. The boy reached out a hand, and Nami made to take it. But at the last second, she slapped his hand away and kicked him in the chest, sending the boy tumbling over a desk.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather keep hanging around with 'that one bastard'," she said, surprising herself. "Because he's a heck of a lot better than someone like you." Her mind was frantically racing, trying to make herself shut up. Wasn't she just thinking of leaving the group less than five minutes ago?

But once she actually listened to herself, she didn't _want_ to leave. She wanted to stay with Luffy and the others, laughing about meaningless things and not having homework in most classes thanks to Luffy's sunny disposition.

"Too bad," a girl sneered, helping the boy up. "I guess they lured you in with the promise of money, huh? We have more of that than they do." And with that, her and the boy walked away, hand-in-hand.

"That was..." Usop began.

"Unexpected," Chopper finished, looking at Nami with awe. "Do you really like hanging out with us?"

"Of course," Nami said, still trying to bring herself to leave them. "I'd rather die than be one of them."

* * *

 _ ***Wrecking Ball- by Miley Cyrus**_

 _ ****Rather Be- By Clean Bandit**_

 _ *****Beauty and a Beat- Justin Beiber *Disgusted shiver***_


	3. APOLOGY AND ANNOUNCEMENT

_**Hello all. I know it's been a while, huh? Before you rage at me, throw things, or plot my ultimately painful demise, let me explain.**_

 _ **I've had cancer for a while now, and my family's tight on money. So we had to sell my computer to try and get my cancer treated. I haven't had a chance to touch an electronic device (minus painful medical equipment) in months, let alone been able to log into Fanfiction and type for my stories.**_

 _ **Ultimately? Treatment worked. I'm now scot-free, with just a few scars and no hair. I've been thinking about working on these stories again, but I'm not too sure about that. My writing has definitely improved after all these months of inactivity, so if anybody wants me to restart my stories, drop a review and tell me. Maybe one day I'll suddenly get the inspiration to continue writing these awful things, maybe even go back and fix them up a bit.**_

 _ **All of these were started on the whim of a stupid, oblivious fourteen-year-old girl that wrote thinking she was better than everyone else in the world. Now, I know better. I'm not the best, and I'm not the worst, but I can sure as Hell try.**_

 _ **I hope that all of you will forgive me for my extended absence. I know there was no warning and I just dropped off of the face of the earth, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry. I'll try to be as active on here as before, but I can't make any promises. Especially now that I'm not so sure if I'm in the One Piece fandom as deeply as I was before.**_

 _ **Farewell for now, and I hope that I will see all of you again someday.**_


End file.
